What should I ask for?

[Melinda S in TX]

If you didn't see my post on the furniture delivery drivers, it is here.

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/496685-wwyd-hopping-mad/?p=5347066

 

Finally, after many phone calls and much frustration, I am talking with a real person.  He looked at my pictures, and said he would send me an email to fill out.  After several more conversations with him, it turns out the paper I am to sign says I will take a check for the cost of the plumber and close my claim.  I told him I wouldn't close the claim since I am out/will be out more than the plumbers cost.  After much pressure and going around, he said that he wanted me to sleep on it and he would call me tomorrow afternoon.  He knows I have a magic number in my head that will make things "all better for me" and tomorrow he wants to hear it. 

 

Claim man said he can pay for the plumbers bill.  He's sorry about my tree, but he doesn't know what they can do about that.  They can't do anything about the driver except tell his company, a contractor, to reprimand him.

 

We are out/will be out more than the plumber.  I spent three hours out in the sleet and 23 degree weather, holding a flashlight for the plumber to work by.  Two of my children spent three hours chasing trash around, bagging it, breaking down boxes, and loading the trailer.  The dump costs money.  My water bill will be higher than normal.  My tree, may or may not make it, and it was a sturdy little tree that's been through years of Texas drought without care.

 

Fil says I should be glad to get the money I paid the plumber back.  He said they wouldn't pay anything to replace my tree with one of equal size($175+tax and an almost three hour drive plus fuel and planting).  He said my time and my children's time wasn't worth anything to the company.

 

Plumbers bill was $736.02.  What should I ask for?  Is it worth the trouble to take it to small claims court?  I have six children and a husband with brain cancer.  I need to get this over with but I want to be able to make things right and not be out money since it was their fault and not mine.

 

The window in the top of the photo is seven foot off the ground.

 

 

After much going round about the trash, he wanted me to unload it and leave it for the next delivery driver to haul away (because their company pride themselves on recycling), or he would add $15 for me to take it to the dump.

 

[mom2samlibby]

I'd ask for $2,000. It was terrible of how they handled that whole delivery. I'd make them pay.

[Dandelion]

Sounds like "claim man" is playing hardball with you. He's trying to get you to settle quickly by making it sound like there's nothing they can do beyond reimbursing you for the plumber's bill. That's B.S.

 

They owe you for all the damage and extra expense they've caused. At least everything you can produce a bill or estimate for, which includes the plumbing repairs, the tree, the dump, and your water bill (maybe your water company can send you a usage report showing the increased usage and cost resulting from the plumbing damage).

 

I'd give the guy an itemized list of your damages/expenses along with copies of receipts and estimates. I'd tell him that you would prefer to resolve the matter with him, but that if the claim isn't handled to your satisfaction you'll be sending written complaints to the CEO of the company, your state's consumer protection agency, the Better Business Bureau, and that you'll have no choice but to share your negative experience on social media. Tell him "I really want to be able to recommend your company to the many people in my network and I hope we can resolve this in a way that allows me to do that."

 

It will be worth it to them to avoid all that, and no matter what this guy is telling you, they can reimburse you for all of your expenses. Don't let this guy talk you out of what you're rightfully owed.

[Tammi K]

:grouphug: I say this very, very gently because you have so much on your plate and I really don't want to say anything that would add grief. But, I think I'm being realistic, so here goes:

 

I agree with your FIL that your time/your kid's time isn't worth a hill of beans to Claim Guy. Neither is the fact that you have 6 kids, a husband who is ill, or the fact that you spent hours in the rain. It doesn't sound nice (I'm sorry - really!) but looking at it from their perspective, your emotional distress isn't worth a cent.

 

What you need to do is take emotion out of the equation. What is the value of the work needed to mitigate the damage? How much would a junk hauler have charged to come to your house, pick up the load of trash and dispose of it? You should be able to call a few places from the yellow pages to get costs.

 

Call a tree nursery and ask the replacement value of your tree including the planting. If they don't do planting, ask for a recommendation for someone who will. Get an estimate.

 

Use a water bill from the past to estimate the value of the extra water. Or, call the water company and ask them to help you figure the amount.

 

Total the money spent plus the estimates for the other expenses. Keep your emotion out of it.

 

It was your decision to send you kids out in the cold to break down boxes (I'm not saying it was a bad decision - just that THEY won't find it a compelling argument and they certainly won't pay for it!) It was your decision to stand in the cold while the plumber fixed the pipe. (Again, a necessary thing, no doubt. But not something they will pay for.)   Stick to real numbers with a figure high enough to cover your expenses and don't try to play a 'guilt' card because I think you will lose.

 

((We move a lot - DH works for a government agency that moves us around - and have had to file lots of damage forms over the years. I've learned that doing the repair work myself might be faster, but NO ONE ever wants to pay us for our own labor even if the cost is lower. It's always been better to get an estimate from a professional and submit that with the claim. There is far less for them to argue with.))

[Melissa in Australia]

:grouphug:

 

I agree that the company doesn't care about your time.

[creekland]

The company doesn't care, but if you provide a detailed list of costs (paying yourself a reasonable amount for your labor) they will likely pay just to be done with it.

 

Itemize all real costs - all of them - plumber, water, tree, dump, etc.

 

Add in your labor costs.

 

Make sure it totals around $2500 (unless that figure ends up lower than the true cost - if so - increase it to $3500 or so).  They'll likely pay it to be done with it as long as it's not a figure TOTALLY out of line (10K or so).  If they don't accept your figure, you have some room to negotiate if you pad it some, just not unrealistically.

 

I'm really sorry you're having to deal with this all... :grouphug:

[Laurie4b]

:grouphug: I say this very, very gently because you have so much on your plate and I really don't want to say anything that would add grief. But, I think I'm being realistic, so here goes:

 

I agree with your FIL that your time/your kid's time isn't worth a hill of beans to Claim Guy. Neither is the fact that you have 6 kids, a husband who is ill, or the fact that you spent hours in the rain. It doesn't sound nice (I'm sorry - really!) but looking at it from their perspective, your emotional distress isn't worth a cent.

 

What you need to do is take emotion out of the equation. What is the value of the work needed to mitigate the damage? How much would a junk hauler have charged to come to your house, pick up the load of trash and dispose of it? You should be able to call a few places from the yellow pages to get costs.

 

Call a tree nursery and ask the replacement value of your tree including the planting. If they don't do planting, ask for a recommendation for someone who will. Get an estimate.

 

Use a water bill from the past to estimate the value of the extra water. Or, call the water company and ask them to help you figure the amount.

 

Total the money spent plus the estimates for the other expenses. Keep your emotion out of it.

 

It was your decision to send you kids out in the cold to break down boxes (I'm not saying it was a bad decision - just that THEY won't find it a compelling argument and they certainly won't pay for it!) It was your decision to stand in the cold while the plumber fixed the pipe. (Again, a necessary thing, no doubt. But not something they will pay for.)   Stick to real numbers with a figure high enough to cover your expenses and don't try to play a 'guilt' card because I think you will lose.

 

((We move a lot - DH works for a government agency that moves us around - and have had to file lots of damage forms over the years. I've learned that doing the repair work myself might be faster, but NO ONE ever wants to pay us for our own labor even if the cost is lower. It's always been better to get an estimate from a professional and submit that with the claim. There is far less for them to argue with.))

 

I agree with this.

 

I also want to add that your emotional distress and the extra stress is worth a lot to people who care about you, including those like me who are just reading about the situation. How awful on top of everything else you must deal with! It's really not fair.  For your sake, though, the sooner you get through this, the faster it will stop accumulating emotional/stress damage in your life. I would be very hesitant to recommend small claims court for that reason. I saw on the other thread people recommended contacting your home owner's insurance. How did that go? They do all the heavy lifting for you in these situations.

 

I also wonder about whether the delivery company might be possible to seek damages from that you can't get from the furniture company. The damage was done with their truck and it was kind of a hit and run, since the guys didn't tell you about it and just drove off. Have you checked with the police about whether they would file charges in this?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AlmiraGulch]

I don't care if the company cares about what you need or not.

 

He wants your number, give it to him.  And high-ball your itemized expenses, like someone else said.

 

You likely won't get what you ask for, but if you go high in the first place, and combined with a letter and copies of the pictures to the CEO (like someone else suggested), you'll end up with a heckuva lot more than the plumber bill.